Victims who lost everything in January tornado in Placida try to move forward

Neighbors have begun a long road to recovery after a tornado tore through a mobile home park. Dozens of homes were damaged and destroyed at Gasparilla Mobile Estates in January.

Now, almost a month later, those who lost everything are speaking about how they’ve been coping. The debris may be gone, and the roads have been cleared, but some of them still aren’t sure what’s next.

The tornado did its damage in a matter of moments, but it changed the course of people’s lives forever. Bob Nolan survived, but his home did not. “If you want to see the tag that the county of Charlotte puts up. It’s an orange tag that says everything under the sun that you’re not supposed to go it’s unsafe to not enter or occupy,” said Nolan.

So, Nolan salvaged what he could and decided to stay with a friend. Luckily, he did have insurance, but it won’t cover the cost of rebuilding.

“You either have to use it to rebuild the house and guarantee you’re going to build it rebuild the house,” said Nolan. “And the other is to take the money and run, and they will dismantle the house and get rid of the house.”

Nolan says, for now, his best option is to take the money. But, Lemon Bay sunrise Rotary and the Charlotte Community Foundation will match.

And, how will they distribute the money? Ashley Maher is the CEO of the Charlotte Community Foundation. “It just depends on what someone’s needs are. But the first things are always going to be the immediate, is it emergency shelter meaning hotels, or somewhere temporarily,” said Maher.

How will the groups know what the needs are?

The homeowners association emailed a form to all homeowners with damage. And, yes, there could be money available to people like Nolan to help them rebuild.